All Movies Watched on Kanopy March–Present

Kanopy. Quality films for free.

Because they are free, I take chances on Kanopy films. As the Recommended/Good/Skip split indicates, this does not always pay off. But that shouldn’t dissuade you from checking out Kanopy’s lineup which is packed with films I love. To encourage you, here’s a new feature where I highlight movies I’ve loved that you can watch right now. For free!

Five Really Great Movies on Kanopy Now

  • While We’re Young, Noah Baumbach’s I-am-too-old-to-be-a-hipster movie with sparkly performances from Ben Stiller, (he’s so great being uncomfortable) Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, and Amanda Seyfried.
  • Bernie, Richard Linklater’s dark comedy about a kind man in a small Texas town who becomes friends with a wealthy widow. Jack Black is great, Shirley MacLaine is her usual bitter character, and no one is better than the host of locals giving color commentary. Plus: two musical numbers!
  • Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley’s fascinating documentary about her family of origin. (Woman writer and director.)
  • Leave No Trace, based on a novel based on a true story that happened in Portland, Oregon where a father and daughter were discovered living in a city wilderness area. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie are so very good. (Woman writer and director)
  • Her Smell, about the off-the-rails period of a 90s punk rock star’s life. One of my favorites from 2018, Elisabeth Moss is fully committed to being unhinged in a performance that has compared her to Courtney Love, but was actually based on W. Axl Rose’s darker days.

Recommended

  • Memento

Good

  • Girlhood
  • The Watermelon Woman
  • Picture of Evan Rachel Wood, Callum Rennie, and Ellen Page in the film Into the Forest
  • Picture of Dominique Fishback and Tatum Marilyn Hall in Night Comes On
  • Drawing of the stars of the Hitch-Hiker: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, and William Talman

Skip

  • The Lobster
  • Lady Macbeth
  • The Beat Beneath My Feet
  • A picture of Francisco Solorzano and Patrizia Hernandez with a sketch of NYC brownstones behind them
  • A picture of Kristen Wiig in the film Welcome to Me.
  • A picture of Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Ehle in the film A Quiet Passion

A Quiet Passion Is Quite Dull

A picture of Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Ehle in the film A Quiet Passion

A Quiet Passion

Directed by Terence Davies
Written by Terence Davies

The review:

Oh my god, there’s quiet, and then there’s glacial and uninteresting.* There is passion and then there’s randomly shrieking about stuff while your kind sister looks on.** Plus, acting that reminded me of very dedicated high school students of middling talents*** making for an overall excruciating film.****

The verdict: Skip*****

Cost: Free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*About twenty minutes in, I thought, “Uh oh, this already feels like a long movie.”
**I understand Dickinson’s passion was her poetry and staying true to herself, but I never felt like the movie showed me, or hinted at, what was causing her outbursts. Also, the switch to the older actors early had me very confused at how much time was passing between scenes. Watching fifty-two-year-old Duncan Duff (Austin Dickinson) introduce the wife he married while studying at Harvard was odd, to say the least.
***Catherine Bailey as Vryling Buffam was particularly terrible.
****One nice feature: the Dickinsons sitting for portraits and seeing them age into their older characters. That meant that 50-year-old Nixon played Emily Dickinson from age 20 onward. See above about confusion as to what year it was.
*****The movie included Mabel Loomis Todd, which is the interesting (and titillating) part of the Dickinson family story, but was still boring in this film. There’s another Dickinson film that goes in a different direction. I’ll see if it’s any good. I suspect we’re still waiting for a film worthy of the writer.

Questions:

  • What’s the thing to focus on with a Dickinson film?
  • Was Cynthia Nixon the right choice for this role?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Terence Davies first met Cynthia Nixon when auditioning actresses for a comedy film called Mad About the Boy that ultimately never got made.

Other reviews of A Quiet Passion:

Clarity is one thing; obviousness is quite another. —A Quiet Passion. Read the three sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

Perhaps Don’t Add Plus One to Your Queue

Picture of Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine in the film Plus One

Plus One

Directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer
Written by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer

The review:

I need to like the couple at the center of a rom-com, and though I found Maya Erskine* interesting and Jack Quaid** serviceable, I never really got on board with the vibe that they should end up together. The time line is a little jumbled, which takes some getting used to,*** and the Venn diagram of this movie would have it crossing with a Judd Apatow film, rather than a Nora Ephron one.**** I think, ultimately, seeing the couple-to-be only at weddings didn’t give me enough information about them, so I never really committed.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Hulu monthly fee ($5.99) (my half) (one month, so I could watch Sword of Trust)
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*I liked the irritation level of her character. Attending a lot of weddings in one’s twenties while single and female is an irritating experience.
**Jack Quaid’s last name might alert you to one-half of his parentage. His blue eyes and wide-open surprised expression will clue you into the other half. My opinions of this movie might be shaped by the fact that in my mind Jack Quaid is ten years old. That he is clearly a fully-grown man had me feeling incredibly old. [Pause for Googling.] I just looked up his age. He’s twenty-eight!
***The directors use a framing device of starting each scene at a wedding with an awkward speech. I loved the awkward speeches, and then was often confused what was happening when the scene started at the wedding before that point.
****The raunch level is high.

Questions:

  • What would have made this film better?
  • What celebrity offspring makes you feel old?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Brianne Howey reprises her character of Jess Ramsey from Andrew Rymer and Jeff Chan’s 2008 short film Suckerpunch. They also reprise the gag of using her full name each time she is mentioned.

Other reviews of Plus One:

Orange background. Text: But the truth is, if you spend your whole life looking for perfect you wind up with nothing. —Plus One. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Achievement (nearly) Unlocked: Back Porch Cleared

Okay, so there are still a few things to deal with. Expired emergency food, two bags of shredded paper, But other than that, I have cleared off the porch, hung the bike mount for Matt’s bike, fashioned a makeshift lock situation that I will fix eventually, and now it’s much easier to sweep off the porch.

Updating the Emergency Food

I bought new water storage cubes. Previously we’d bought three-gallon containers of drinking water at the grocery store which would inevitably swell and burst when temperatures got below freezing. Our storage shed has an exterior wall and is not insulated.

These containers are empty, which means I can empty and refill them myself. It also means that can fill them to a point where even when they do freeze, they will not burst. I also appreciated the sense of humor as displayed by item three of suggested uses.

To manage the expiring food, I have made a spreadsheet. I’ve got one column that has the expiration date and one column that is a month before the expiration date. My plan is to print this sheet, attach it to our wall calendar on the month with the next expiration date. When the calendar turns, I can pull the food and incorporate it into the menu, or put it out in one of the neighborhood food pantry.

By doing this I will hopefully avoid another incident where I only realize the food is expired because of ants attempting to colonize the food storage area.

Peeples Is a Fine Meet the Parents

Picture of David Alan Grier and Craig Robinson in the film Peeples

Peeples

Directed by Tina Gordon
Written by Tina Gordon

The review:

Meet-the-parents-style films are not my favorite,* but this entry provides ample opportunity to show off Craig Robinson’s many talents.** It’s fun to watch a film with a Black cast where the big problem has to do with “fit” with family rather than standard topics we usually get. And you get to see some fun stuff from David Alan Grier and S. Epatha Merkerson, not to mention appearances by Melvin Van Peebles and Diahann Carroll.

The verdict: Good

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

  • The Wood
  • Aaaaannnd, that’s all I’ve got.
  • This is an area I need to do some viewing
  • According to the previews, every Tyler Perry movie, ever.

Further sentences:

*I always spend the run-time of the movie thinking, “Mr. Rogers thinks you are good enough just the way that you are, so don’t engage.” Or “This person is not worth it. Run away! Run far away!” This film fell into the “run away” category, thus making it hard to root for the ending I knew I was going to get.
**IMDB tells me he gets steady work, for which I’m glad, but I think if we were in an era where the musical theater nature of actors was better able to display, plus if we valued our talented Black performers, he’d have a much bigger career.

Questions:

  • Do you think this happens in real life? I feel like 90% of people aren’t that overt in their dislike. And even their passive/aggressive game is weak.
  • Were you rooting for the couple, or not?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The filmmakers found an existing house in Connecticut that they transformed into the Peeples home complete with details of the family’s ancestry including a painting of Ignatius Toussaint Peeples who lived between 1766 and 1844 that can be seen hanging in the front hall of the home.

Also this:
The cast was constantly singing and dancing on set in between takes, so much so that the producers had to lock the piano during filming.

Other reviews of Peeples:

Joy Ride Is a Fun Ride

Picture of Steve Zahn, Leelee Sobieski and Paul Walker in the 2001 film Joy Ride

Joy Ride

Directed by John Dahl
Written by Clay Tarver, J.J. Abrams

The review:

I greatly enjoy both Paul Walker and Steve Zahn, so your mileage may vary* with this ridiculous thriller involving a CB radio, a prank, and a very persistent trucker.** The key to success with a movie like this is the level of commitment and the cast is all in. This is also a thriller that was pitched at my favorite level of thriller*** and made for a nice Saturday afternoon escape.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: free from Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*See what I did there?
**Not only does this have Walker and Zahn, I also picked it because LeeLee Sobieski is in it, though she turned out to not be super great. But John Dahl, director of Red Rock West, directed this! And with J.J. Abrams as a co-writer, you can see how it might turn into something worth watching.
***Not really scary because it isn’t going to happen to me.
****It appears there are sequels, but I will not be going any further in the franchise.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite kind of ridiculous thriller?
  • What did you think about the triangle?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

For the nighttime chase scenes, the headlights of the trucks and cars were replaced by aircraft landing lights for extra brightness. This helped to bring down the exposure enough to keep the sky consistently black even at early dawn.

Also this, which I wondered about:

To avoid the unpleasant effects of having to remove tape from Leelee Sobieski’s hair and skin after the take, she was tied up with a strong, thick plastic film (like thick Saran Wrap) which looked like tape and stuck almost like tape, but which had no glue, making its removal simple and fuss-free.

Other reviews of Joy Ride:

  • Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com
  • Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com
  • (You know what’s hard to find? Live links to a so-so movie from 2001 reviewed by women.)
Orange background with a white frame. Text: I'm not going anywhere until somebody tells me why I should be afraid of a radio. —Joy Ride. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

I Build Some Shelves For Above-Washer Storage

Et voila! Shelves. I cut a leftover piece of wood from the dryer platform in half (with a handsaw balanced on top of my recycling bins because I was too lazy to get everything out that was needed for the circular saw), installed four of those handy braces I’ve been using forever, did some drilling, and now there are shelves where there once were none.

Here’s a close-up view.

In keeping with my laziness, I’m not going to paint them. The bare wood fits with the utilitarian nature of the laundry area.

Garden Update September 2020

The thing about living in Portland is that by the time my garden really gets going, it’s September and thoughts of autumn have taken over. September is when the tomatoes really produce, which was always inconvenient when I worked for a school.

My garden in September is often neglected, poor thing. Regardless!

Here you can see the tomatoes going gangbusters. I think next year I will trim them back so I get fewer and bigger tomatoes. You can see a healthy collard plant to the right of the tomatoes and some other greenery that I have forgotten since I am writing this post in the far future. I also picked up a cat litter box with a cover from the street. My plan is to clean it and put it on the catio to give another litter box option to the cats. [Update from the future. I did this, and Antares showed some interest, but when the rains came, they flooded the box and I ended up throwing out a large chunk of soggy cat litter, scrubbing the litter box once again, and putting it back out on the street for someone to grab.]

From a different angle, you can see the orange 5-gallon bucket that I haven’t put away for week. Plus that the tree collards (back center) need better support. One of them has been flopped on the ground for weeks, poor thing. The raspberries are still spitting out a few gems, and between them and the tree collards are some spinach, kale and lettuce I started late in the summer.

Over in Leo’s yard you can see the squash doing its late-summer thing where it tries to grow a lot and gets powdery mildew. I didn’t get much zucchini from my three plans this summer (maybe I need to attract more pollinators?) but the delacata squash managed to put off a small squash for each plant, which wasn’t bad considering how old those seeds were. I staggered planting the green beans because I love green beans, but then I didn’t go out and pick much of the later plantings.

On the other side of the green beans you can see the Oregon Sweet Meat squash that I direct seeded. Steve Soloman seems to think this is a better way to go, but by the time the soil warms up enough for direct seeding, it’s too late in the season. Plus, I never bought another soaker hose so the poor thing had to grow on its own, without additional water. I got one very small squash out of this deal.

The Uncomfortable Film I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Picture of Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley in the film I'm Thinking of Ending Things

I’m Thinking of Ending Tings

Directed by Charlie Kaufman
Written by Charlie Kaufman (based on Iain Reid’s book)

The review:

It’s a Charlie Kaufman film, so settle in and wait for the weird.* In this case, two Jesses** take us on a very long, very uncomfortable meet-the-parents journey.*** I have a debate going about whose story this really is,**** and while I don’t think this is Kaufman’s best, it provided a lot of Kaufman things, plus two productions numbers from a famous musical.*****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Charlie Kaufman films = long, weird, uncomfortable, nonsensical, mesmerizing. If you’re tired of the same old same old, a Kaufman film is always a great palate cleanser.
**Jessie Buckley, so good in Wild Rose, and Jesse Plemons who imprinted on me in Friday Night Lights. Both seem to be carving out roles that let them show off their range.
***It’s possible, that with the quarantine, you’ve been missing uncomfortable family dynamics. This provides a perfect remedy!
****If it’s Jessie Buckley’s story, Kaufman made a film for the #metoo era.
*****I’ve got a short list of movies with musical production numbers. This and Bernie. What can you think of?

Questions:

  • What do you think is Kaufman’s best?
  • Who’s story is it?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The first car scene lasts roughly seventeen minutes and fifteen seconds (not including the brief interludes of seeing the Janitor). The second car scene lasts twenty-two minutes and thirty-seven seconds (not including the Tulsey Town detour)

Other reviews of I’m Thinking of Ending Things:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: It's tragic how few people possess their souls before they die. —I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com